Mazmur 79:13

79:13 Then we, your people, the sheep of your pasture,

will continually thank you. ¹ 

We will tell coming generations of your praiseworthy acts. ² 

Mazmur 95:7

95:7 For he is our God;

we are the people of his pasture,

the sheep he owns. ³ 

Today, if only you would obey him! ⁴ 

Mazmur 100:3

100:3 Acknowledge that the Lord is God!

He made us and we belong to him; ⁵ 

we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Yeremia 23:1

New Leaders over a Regathered Remnant

23:1 The Lord says, ⁶  “The leaders of my people are sure to be judged. ⁷  They were supposed to watch over my people like shepherds watch over their sheep. But they are causing my people to be destroyed and scattered. ⁸ 

Yehezkiel 34:8

34:8 As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, my sheep have become prey and have become food for all the wild beasts. There was no shepherd, and my shepherds did not search for my flock, but fed themselves and did not feed my sheep,

Yehezkiel 34:31

34:31 And you, my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are my people, ⁹  and I am your God, declares the sovereign Lord.’”

Lukas 12:32

12:32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is well pleased ¹⁰  to give you the kingdom.

Yohanes 10:26-30

10:26 But you refuse to believe because you are not my sheep. 10:27 My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 10:28 I give ¹¹  them eternal life, and they will never perish; ¹²  no one will snatch ¹³  them from my hand. 10:29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, ¹⁴  and no one can snatch ¹⁵  them from my Father’s hand. 10:30 The Father and I ¹⁶  are one.” ¹⁷ 

[79:13]  ¹ tn Or (hyperbolically) “will thank you forever.”

[79:13]  ² tn Heb “to a generation and a generation we will report your praise.” Here “praise” stands by metonymy for the mighty acts that prompt worship. Cf. Ps 9:14.

[95:7]  ³ tn Heb “of his hand.”

[95:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “if only you would listen to his voice.” The Hebrew particle אִם (’im, “if”) and following prefixed verbal form here express a wish (cf. Ps 81:8). Note that the apodosis (the “then” clause of the conditional sentence) is suppressed.

[100:3]  ⁵ tn The present translation (like most modern translations) follows the Qere (marginal reading), which reads literally, “and to him [are] we.” The Kethib (consonantal text) has “and not we.” The suffixed preposition לו (“to him”) was confused aurally with the negative particle לא because the two sound identical.

[23:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[23:1]  ⁷ sn Heb This particle once again introduces a judgment speech. The indictment is found in v. 1 and the announcement of judgment in v. 2. This leads into an oracle of deliverance in vv. 3-4. See also the note on the word “judged” in 22:13.

[23:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “Woe to the shepherds who are killing and scattering the sheep of my pasture.” See the study note on 22:13 for the significance of “Sure to be judged” (Heb “Woe”) See the study note for the significance of the metaphor introduced here.

[23:1]  sn Verses 1-4 of ch. 23 are an extended metaphor in which the rulers are compared to shepherds and the people are compared to sheep. This metaphor has already been met with in 10:21 and is found elsewhere in the context of the Lord’s covenant with David (cf. 2 Sam 7:7-8; Ps 78:70-72). The sheep are God’s people and he is the ultimate shepherd who is personally concerned about their care (cf. Pss 23:1; 80:2). He has set rulers over them as his under-shepherds and they are responsible to him for the care of his sheep (see 22:3-4). They have been lax shepherds, allowing the sheep to be scattered and destroyed. So he will punish them. As the true shepherd of Israel he will regather his scattered flock and place new shepherds (rulers) over them. These verses lead to a promise of an ideal ruler set over an Israel which has experienced a new and better Exodus (vv. 6-8). For a more complete development of this metaphor with similar messianic and eschatological implications see Ezek 34. The metaphor has been interpreted in the translation but some of the flavor left in the simile.

[34:31]  ⁹ tn Heb, “the sheep of my pasture, you are human.” See 36:37-38 for a similar expression. The possessive pronoun “my” is supplied in the translation to balance “I am your God” in the next clause.

[12:32]  ¹⁰ tn Or perhaps, “your Father chooses.”

[10:28]  ¹¹ tn Grk “And I give.”

[10:28]  ¹² tn Or “will never die” or “will never be lost.”

[10:28]  ¹³ tn Or “no one will seize.”

[10:29]  ¹⁴ tn Or “is superior to all.”

[10:29]  ¹⁵ tn Or “no one can seize.”

[10:30]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “I and the Father.” The order has been reversed to reflect English style.

[10:30]  ¹⁷ tn The phrase ἕν ἐσμεν ({en esmen) is a significant assertion with trinitarian implications. ἕν is neuter, not masculine, so the assertion is not that Jesus and the Father are one person, but one “thing.” Identity of the two persons is not what is asserted, but essential unity (unity of essence).